CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Funeral details have been released for Chris Cheeks, the former star basketball player and assistant coach at VCU and several other schools.
Cheeks died of an apparent heart attack on April 21. He was 54 years old.
A memorial service is planned for Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at Faith and Family Church on Walmsley Boulevard in Chesterfield.
People who attend are asked to honor Cheeks by wearing black and gold.
A funeral service will be held on May 3 at 11 a.m. in Washington, D.C.
Cheeks played just two years for the Rams, from 1987-1989, but packed a career’s worth of highlights in those two seasons. His 42 points against Old Dominion in 1989 are the second most in a single game in VCU history and his 667 total points that season are the third most ever scored by a Ram in one year. Cheeks averaged just over 20 points and nearly 5 rebounds per game in his VCU career. He is one of just two players in school history to average over 20 points per game in their career.
Cheeks 23.8 points per game as a senior is the third highest mark in VCU history and the most of any Ram since 1970. He also earned Second Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors in 1988 after he averaged 17.3 points and led the Rams to a 23-12 record and the third round of the Postseason NIT. He was also named to the Sun Belt All-Tournament Team that season.
After his playing career, Cheeks was an assistant coach at several schools, including VCU under Sonny Smith and Mac McCarthy, during which the Rams won both the CAA regular season and tournament championships. He also made stops at Western Kentucky, Delaware, Charlotte, West Virginia, and Georgia State.
Cheeks is survived by his wife Mona, and three children: Christopher Jr., Brandon and Lauren.
